The Sinclair QL Forum

I have space in another board I'm sending out for manufacture to slip in this little beastie.
My internal debate is, do I just want to do a basic carrier for Minerva, or should I go the trivial extra to add a battery backed clock option? Adding that also allows so no pins need to be bent on the EPROM.

What do you think?

Sounds like a useful idea for a simple project.

1. Is it for Minerva Mk1 or Mk2 or both? (Don't know what the original Mk2 boards were like)

2. Would the battery back up coexist happily with e.g. the one on Super Gold Card?

The battery backed clock would be an install option - it doesn't have to be used or powered. It would effectively be Minerva MK1.5 - gaining only the clock. Yes, it would co-exist.

Hi,

dilwyn wrote: 1. Is it for Minerva Mk1 or Mk2 or both? (Don't know what the original Mk2 boards were like)

The Minerva MKII had a I2C Interface on the Minerva Carrier board.I have 2 Minerva MKII boards, one needs a new eprom socket, which I have removed the old socket. The other Minerva MKII board need a new pin on the eprom socket. I could draw up a circuit diagram is required.

dilwyn wrote: 2. Would the battery back up coexist happily with e.g. the one on Super Gold Card?

I used to use SuperGold Card and Minerva MKII without any problem, I think the Minerva Clock took presence over the SuperGold Card Clock. But the Minerva Clock was not protected like the SuperGold Card clock. This was done with the PROT_DATE command.

Dave wrote:I have space in another board I'm sending out for manufacture to slip in this little beastie.

Screen Shot 2017-06-08 at 4.05.02 PM.png

My internal debate is, do I just want to do a basic carrier for Minerva, or should I go the trivial extra to add a battery backed clock option? Adding that also allows so no pins need to be bent on the EPROM.

What do you think?

Wow

Hi Dave

Please count me in for at least one of those Minerva boards - I'd like the battery-backed clock option, if its viable, but not essential.

It looks like the economics of it mean there won't be a clock option. I'm comfortable with that because there will be something else with Minerva and a battery backed clock in the next few months. It's much cheaper to incorporate it into something else than to to it as a standalone board. Meanwhile, I am still waiting on the turned pins to arrive so I can correctly size the holes.

I'll sell the boards with the SMD component mounted, but the pins will need hand soldering - that way it can be shipped as first class mail instead of parcel mail. That cuts shipping costs by 80%+. If people order it with something else that is going parcel mail anyway, I'll mount the pins for them.

Hi Dave,

I would like to get one on these minerva boards,
How should i do?

Thanks

Dave wrote:It looks like the economics of it mean there won't be a clock option. I'm comfortable with that because there will be something else with Minerva and a battery backed clock in the next few months. It's much cheaper to incorporate it into something else than to to it as a standalone board. Meanwhile, I am still waiting on the turned pins to arrive so I can correctly size the holes.

I'll sell the boards with the SMD component mounted, but the pins will need hand soldering - that way it can be shipped as first class mail instead of parcel mail. That cuts shipping costs by 80%+. If people order it with something else that is going parcel mail anyway, I'll mount the pins for them.

Hi Dave,

I would only need the PCB.

I do lead free SMD soldering easily.

I require to get rid of the bugged QDOS ROMs....

Derek_Stewart wrote: I require to get rid of the bugged QDOS ROMs....

MG is really not bad, in my opinion. (if you fix the POINT bug with TK2)

JM has tricked me in places, and JS is somewhere in-between.

But agree Minerva is even nicer.

Tobias